


This Was Never My Plan (But Maybe It Was Fate's)

by its_not_my_fault



Series: A Grimm's Fate [1]
Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Family Feels, Feels, Light Angst, Love Confessions, mentions of baby Kelly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24220171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_not_my_fault/pseuds/its_not_my_fault
Summary: Adalind had never understood love until Diana was born. And she couldn't and wouldn't blame Nick if he never loved her back. He'd already given her more than she could ever have believed possible.
Relationships: Nick Burkhardt/Adalind Schade
Series: A Grimm's Fate [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788886
Comments: 22
Kudos: 104





	This Was Never My Plan (But Maybe It Was Fate's)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks, Reb, for your help editing! And thank you, Molly, for cheering me on and helping me with the title. I love you guys <3 
> 
> If you've watched through season four (well, even season 3 really) of Grimm, then you know how Kelly was conceived. I know that's troubling and triggering for some and while it's not described in detail in this story, there is mention of it in general/vague terms. 
> 
> For me, I love a redemption arc. I love who Adalind becomes, and, in a lot of ways, this story is a love letter to Adalind's change of heart.

Adalind reminded herself that it didn’t matter if Nick never loved her the same way she loved him. _ It didn’t _ . She knew that he cared deeply and that he was committed to her and their family. He’d proved that over and over again. He’d done everything he could to protect her--not just their son. Her. No one had ever protected her before Nick did. At least not in any genuine way that mattered. Oh, she’d been protected as an asset, but that wasn’t the same thing at all. That had been people defending their interests and agendas—they hadn’t cared what happened to her. Even when The Resistance had stepped between her and The Royals, it had been about keeping her daughter out of the hands of the Royal family. She’d been grateful for their help, of course. She hadn’t realized what her child would mean to her until Diana was about to be born. She hadn’t known what it would be like to hold her child in her arms. She’d finally understood what love was that day. She had seen love in other people, but she had never felt love for someone before holding Diana, and no one had ever loved her. Losing Dana made her think that she had lost her only chance ever to be loved in return. She hadn’t thought she would have the capacity to love again when Diana was ripped from her. 

Then she’d gotten pregnant again. She hadn’t planned that. She still had a hard time believing she’d gotten pregnant and that the baby was Nick’s son. No child could replace another, but when she had finally embraced that she was going to have a baby and stopped denying whose baby it was... it was like her world and mind had flipped upside down. Actually, maybe she should say her mind was right side up for the first time in her life. She couldn’t lose this baby, and it had set her heart on fire to think she might lose another baby because of the terrible choices she made in the past.

Even before he was born, Kelly had given her heart warmth and strength and joy. Even if she hadn’t planned it, even if Nick would never have chosen the life they had  _ now  _ back then, Nick had given her the kind of happiness she never imagined she could have. He gave her protection and stability, and she’d cried over that every night those first few nights in the house with him and the baby.

When they’d moved to their home, he’d given her even more—comfort and care and kindness and laughter. And not long after the first night that he’d slept next to her so she would feel safe, she’d fallen for him. Loving Nick was beyond foolish. Hell, falling in love with him had been an utterly idiotic thing for her to do. But it was also entirely impossible not to love him. How Juliette had let a little something like Hexenbiest interfere with staying with Nick, Adalind would never know. Adalind worried about how her powers might twist her when they came back. Still, Rosalee had been right when she said that Adalind’s abilities might not come back the same way. She didn’t think it was about her powers changing, though. Adalind didn’t feel like she was the same person she used to be, and she believed it was because she had her family now. Even if Nick wasn’t in love with her, she knew that he loved her as his child’s mother, and he thought of her as his partner in life, and that was more than enough. It was more than she had ever dreamed. When she first told him she was pregnant with his baby, she had barely believed he wouldn’t kill them both. And now he was willing to die for them both. It choked Adalind to think of how close they had been to losing their family to the actual devil. She shuddered to think of the “other place” and it hurt her to think that her poor daughter would remember what happened and remember the trauma. Adalind had every intention of getting her daughter a Wesen therapist just as soon as she could find one. The way Diana talked about how Zerstörer had manipulated her emotions and thoughts was terrifying beyond words, and she didn’t know how to help her daughter heal from that. It did give Adalind some comfort that Diana seemed at peace with that part of the experience. Diana had said Zerstörer was “gone forever now” with confidence Adalind hoped wasn’t unfounded. That didn’t mean Diana was totally fine, though, either. 

Diana, who had seen both her parents die in the “other place” hadn’t wanted to be separated from either of her parents. Adalind couldn’t blame her. Apparently, Nick didn’t either because he agreed that Adalind, Kelly, Diana, Sean, and he would all spend a few nights in a hotel suite together. Spending the night at Sean’s or finding a way for Sean to spend the night at Nick’s felt wrong, but an oversized hotel suite would give them neutral space and room for everyone. Nick seemed to have gotten over a lot of his hatred towards Sean, which made her believe that things had been so much worse than he’d let on. She would ask him about it once they were home and alone. 

The hotel room was beautiful. Sean had offered to pay for it and had been surprisingly generous. When she asked him about it, all he said was, “Diana told me without Nick I’d be dead and she would be under the control of that skull man. I owe him whether I like it or not.” She hadn’t thought questioning him at that moment was worth it, so she decided to let it be, but that was several days ago.

Adalind was thankful that her daughter had the time she needed with all of them together, but they’d all go to their respective homes tomorrow, and she would be glad for it. She wanted to be back in a space that was Nick’s no matter the leaf Sean may or may not have turned over. She tucked the covers around Diana and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “How’s that?” Adalind asked as she stood up straight. 

“I’m good. I know we can’t all live together all the time, but I liked living with all my parents for a little while.” 

Adalind smiled. “Both your parents love you very much.” 

“Do you mean you and Daddy?” Diana asked.

“Yes, of course. Who else would I mean?” 

“Nick loves me, too. I can feel it even though he hasn’t told me yet the way he told Kelly in the other place. I know he’s Kelly’s dad, but Kelly won’t mind sharing him with me a little, will he?” 

Adalind swallowed a few times, hoping to dislodge the lump in her throat. After taking a few seconds to get herself under control, she said, “I don’t think your brother will mind at all.” 

“That’s good. I think I love Nick, too, now. I wasn’t sure before, but now I am. I see why you love him. Do you think it’d be okay if I called him ‘dad’ sometimes?” 

Adalind felt herself tear up. “Yeah, honey. I think that would make Nick very happy.” 

“Oh good. But… um, can I go stay with Daddy a few days after we leave here tomorrow?” 

“It’s fine with me. I’ll check with your daddy, but I’m sure he’d like that.” She bent over to kiss Diana’s forehead again. “You can read until Daddy comes into say goodnight, then it’s time for sleep.” 

“Okay, Mommy. I love you!” 

“I love you, too.” As she closed the door to her daughter’s room, she turned to find Sean behind her and almost jumped out of her skin. “You startled me,” she told him. The open living and kitchen space was nice for a hotel, but it still meant close quarters, so she really should’ve expected someone to be there, but she’d been wrapped up in her thoughts. 

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I was just going to make sure that Diana was doing okay.” 

“She’s okay—handling all this better than I would. She said she would like to stay with you for a little while. I told her that I didn’t think you’d mind.” 

“I’d like that, actually. Are you and Nick okay with that?” 

“You’re asking me if Nick and I are okay with Diana staying with you for a while?” 

“Look, this is the olive branch. Take it or leave it.” 

“Okay! Yes, Nick and I are fine with Diana spending some time with you.” 

Sean sighed and stared at his feet with his hands in his pockets for a few seconds. “I’m still annoyed he tanked my mayoral career, but he saved my daughter and me, so I am willing to curtail some,--and I stress some--of my hostility.” 

Just to her left, the door to Adalind and Nick’s bedroom opened, and Nick came out with a giggling Kelly. Nick smiled at her. His smile was wide, open, and relaxed, albeit partly hidden under their son’s grabbing fingers. 

“I overheard that, Sean, and I’ll take it.” Nick kissed his son’s hand before adjusting his hold on the baby so that his face was no longer in reach of Kelly’s little fingers. Watching them caused Adalind to feel as though her heart might punch through her chest, but with the kind of joy she never experienced before Nick and Kelly became a real part of her life. She hadn’t had time with Diana when they weren’t being hunted so she hadn’t gotten to have any time with Diana that wasn’t tainted with fear or blackmail until now. Everything about Nick’s happy content smile and her son’s giggling joy made her burst with happiness. And her daughter was safe on the other side of the hotel room door behind her. She didn’t think she could get any happier than she was at this very moment. Black Claw was gone. Zerstörer was gone. The Royals were over and The Resistance had disbanded. Even the Wesen council was gone though many of them hadn’t deserved what they got. Her family was safe. Nick’s job would always have an element of danger, and being a Grimm would always mean some Wesen would want to see him dead, but he wouldn't face that danger alone. Nick had incredible friends, and he had them because of who he was, not what he was, and that meant a loyalty that couldn’t be shaken. 

“Oh, God, well, that is enough of that. You two are... I never thought I would say this about a Grimm and a Hexenbeist. I especially didn’t think I’d ever say this about the two of you, but you two are nauseating when you look at each other like that, so, that said, I am going to say goodnight to my daughter and go to bed. And I don’t want to see either of your sappy, lovesick faces when I come out of Diana’s room.” 

Adalind's face heated and she knew she was blushing. It wasn’t that she couldn’t guess that her face looked lovesick when She looked at Nick. It was that Sean seemed to think that Nice felt the same way about her that had her feeling flushed. She wasn’t sure she could trust Sean’s assessment, but it made her heart squeeze tight, and her pulse surge. She felt flustered and silly, but Nick took one of her hands in his and pulled her into the bedroom they were sharing, leaving Sean to make his way into Diana’s room to say goodnight.

When they were in the room, Nick kissed her hand before letting it go. He shut the door behind them and made his way to the crib to tuck in Kelly. As awake as Kelly had seemed a few moments ago, he now seemed to be dropping into sleep. She knew she was just standing in the middle of their room staring at Nick, but she didn’t think she could stop just yet. Sean’s words, combined with Nick’s easy and open affection, even though his affection wasn’t new, had frozen her. Once Nick had Kelly settled, he padded over to her. God, how she loved seeing him barefoot. He was smiling, but she wasn’t sure it was the same smile he’d given her earlier--this one seemed more playful than the last one. 

“What is it?” She looked down at herself to look for baby spit up or food crumbs and started patting down her hair and face to make sure they were clear of debris as well. Nick gently took each of her hands into his, and her attention was pulled back to his face. 

“Have I ever told you how much I love our son?” Nick asked. 

“You’ve always shown it, Nick. It took me a while to believe it, but you’ve been an amazing father, and I can see it in your face and hear it in your voice that you love him.” And that was the truth. She had never needed to hear him say the words, “I love my son” for her to feel the love that radiated off of him when their son was around or when Nick talked about Kelly. 

Nick let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. She hugged him close and buried her face in his chest and melted a little more into him as he cradled her to him. “I love Diana, too. I hope she’ll grow to love me. I don’t want to freeze Sean out or replace him, I just hope she can think of me as someone good in her life.”

“She already told me she does. I can’t believe how perfect my life is, and so much of it is because of you. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” She meant that. She thought about telling him that she loved him, but she never wanted him to feel like he had to say it back. She told him when she could make sure he wouldn’t feel any pressure, and now wasn’t one of those times she thought she could juggle that, so she held it back. She was confident he knew how she felt, and that was enough. 

“There’s something I need to tell you. It isn’t easy, but it’s important, so just let me talk for a bit, okay? I really need to get it all out.” 

“Okay,” she said into his chest. She wasn’t sure what to expect out of this, but surely he wouldn’t be holding her so tightly if he was going to tell her that he and Juliette were getting back together, would he? 

“The last time I told Juliette I loved her, she laughed in my face.” Adalind tensed immediately at those words, panic now causing her heart to race unpleasantly, and she started to pull away, but he held her tighter. 

“No... just hear me out. Please.” His voice was soft and strange, making her unsure what to make of all of this. She clutched the knowledge that he loved their son, he loved Diana and wanted to be in her life, and hoped that even if he was going back to Juliette or Eve or whoever she was becoming now, that he would still help Adalind care for Kelly and Diana. She reminded herself that she had her job back at the firm so she wouldn’t be homeless or anything. She would get through whatever this was. She’d be lonely, but she had genuine friends now, and her children, and that was beyond anything she could’ve hoped for a couple of years ago. Nick had once told her that Juliette being around didn’t change how he felt about her and Kelly, but she and Nick hadn’t even kissed at that point, and he’d never explicitly said how he felt about her and Kelly. So she couldn’t be sure what that statement even meant. 

Nick took a deep breath. “After she laughed at me, I swore to myself I’d never say those words to anyone again. That I would show people I cared about them however I could, but I wouldn’t say those words. But then Zerstörer came through, and I thought I might not make it back to you alive, and I realized that you and Kelly deserved to hear those words from me.” If Adalind had thought her pulse was racing before, it was nothing compared to this. She thought she might be mishearing him due to the thundering in her ears. 

Nick pulled away just enough to take her face in his hands and tilt her head up. Her eyes pricked with tears, and she hated it, but she couldn’t help it. “I love you, Adalind. I love our family. And from now on, I am going to be better at telling you.”

The tears were falling now, but she still managed to say, “I love you, too.” 

Nick’s smile turned mischievous again. “You know Trubel says it’s obvious you love me.” 

Adalind laughed and shoved Nick’s shoulder. “Now I’m trying to remember why I love you.” 

Nick wrapped her up in his arms again and kissed the top of her head—it warmed her down to her toes. Then he added, “I don’t know why you love me. I just feel lucky that you do.” 

“I’m the lucky one, and you know it,” Adalind told him seriously. She knew who she had been and what she had done in the past. Nick had somehow forgiven all of that and allowed her to become a new person with a new life. If that wasn’t a miracle enough, now he was saying that he loved her, and Adalind felt both as though she couldn’t catch her breath and as if she was taking her first full breath after almost drowning. She thought her knees might buckle. 

Nick gently smoothed away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “I know who you were, and I know that woman was alone surrounded by enemies and users. That isn’t who you are now. Who you are now is an incredible mother, a wonderful friend, a badass Hexenbiest, a generous soul, and the love of my life.” 

Adalind felt herself make a strange hiccuping gasping sound. “The love of your life? You mean that?” 

“Yes. And soon I’ll propose to you properly. Assuming you’ll say yes, of course.” 

Adalind thought her soul would bubble over with joy for the rest of her life. “Oh, yes, Nick. I’ll say yes.” 

(And they lived happily ever after.) 

  
  
  



End file.
